In the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Kerala Assembly session, previously scheduled until January 28, has been curtailed, ending on January 22. Moreover, the Assembly will discuss the no-confidence motion proposed by the Opposition against Kerala Speaker P Sreeramakrishnan on January 21.
The Indian Union Muslim League MLA M Ummer had proposed the no-confidence motion, stating that the Speaker is “under the radar of central agencies for his alleged contact with prime accused in the dollar smuggling case, Swapna Suresh, and hence must demit the office”.
Earlier, the Opposition had alleged that the government is curtailing the session for not discussing the resolution against the Speaker. The Working Committee has decided to discuss the no-confidence motion against the Speaker two days before the end of the budget session of the Assembly.
The Customs department had said that they would be questioning P Sreeramakrishnan in connection with the dollar smuggling case, after the conclusion of the Assembly session. The department decided to interrogate the Speaker after the conclusion of the budget session in the Assembly despite getting the green signal for questioning.
Earlier, the Customs officials approached Assistant Solicitor General (ACG) P Vijayakumar, seeking legal advice and procedures to follow before questioning the Speaker. The ACG told the agency that there were no legal obstacles and gave the department the green light to proceed with the questioning.
